Friends and Lovers
by Mazaki-sensei
Summary: A NEW AND IMPROVED ENDING. A puppyshipping story that asks the questions: How did our boys feel about each other during the adventures they shared? And how did their feelings change over time? I used a challenging format for the story too, multiple time skips and two POV. Rated T for sexy thoughts. Pairings is mostly S/J, but also off camera Yugi/Tea and Mai/Valon


Friends and Lovers

I heard my reviewers loud and clear. Here is the revised ending.

There is some time skips, which is signaled by ceo. And a break where the focus shifts from Joey to Seto, which is marked ceoceoceo.

This takes story takes us through the Yu-Gi-Oh universe, from after the Duelist Kingdom arc to the final episode, then I carry on for a bit longer after that.

Not being too picky about how things went in the anime is key to liking this story. Most of the scenes happen off camera. Also, as usual in my stories, expect some ooc and it is going to be a bit AU. I think. Otherwise, lay back and enjoy.

ceoceoceo

The gang flopped down on the furniture in the Muto living room.

"I will never understand why you want to be Kaiba's friend, Yugi. Ever since Duelist Kingdom, you've been trying to be friendly with that guy and all he does is sneer at you." Said Tristan

"Yugi, we have been friends for a long time but even I don't get it. He's rude and downright nasty to you and Joey, and he ignores us completely." Tea said while indicating herself, Tristan and Ryo.

"True, the guy is very temperamental and arrogant. What do you think Joey?" Asked Ryo

"Well normally I would agree with you guys but as a big brother myself, I felt for the Kaiba brothers. They really care for one another."

"Joey, you're an idiot. Yugi don't be like this moron, give up on Kaiba." Said Tristan

"Well don't you guys think he's cool?" Asked Yugi

"Yeah, he really cool." Joey said and Tristan saw stars in Joey's eyes and groaned.

"Not this again." Tristan grumbled and Joey blushed. The others looked puzzled at the two boys.

"Come on Tris…" Said Joey

"No way, the guy's a bastard."

Joey slumped further into the couch.

"What is going on?" Said Tea in a stage whisper to Tristan.

"Joey likes Seto Kaiba."

"Good that makes two of us." Said Yugi

"Tris…" Whispered Joey

"No, not like that, Joey _likes_ Kaiba."

What Tristan just said sunk in for a minute and Yugi, Tea, and Ryo shouted at the same time:

"WHAT!"

"The guy is bisexual and always goes for the difficult ones." Continued Tristan.

Joey sinks lower as his friends stare at him. They had no idea Joey liked boys too.

"Tris…Leave it alone." Said Joey

A full minute passes as this new information is digested.

"Really?" Asked Yugi

Joey nods.

"Kaiba?" Asked Tea.

Joey nods again.

"Wow." Said Ryo

Joey sits up, defensive now.

"Hey now, it's normal for me to like both guys and girls. Besides, the guy is cool and good looking…And I just like him that's all…" Said Joey as he slumps again.

"It's alright Joey, we still like you even if this bisexual thing is a bit of a shock. I can't say much about your taste. First Mai and now Kaiba." Said Tea pouting, she didn't like Mai and Seto putting her friends down at the tournament.

"Hey Mai's hot!" Said Tristan to Tea who huffed. He turned to Joey and said:

"Speaking of Mai, that's who you should go for."

"She is friendlier than Kaiba." Said Ryo.

"Yeah, Mai's great." Agreed Joey.

"Good, now we got to get Yugi off this 'let's be friends with Kaiba' kick."

"Not going to happen, Kaiba is a good person and the Pharaoh agrees with me."

"I do indeed Yugi. Don't worry your friends will come around." Said the Pharaoh in Yugi's mind.

ceo

Time passes and the feelings of the friends don't change. Yugi and the others supports Joey sexuality. Yugi continues to treat Kaiba as a friend. Joey makes vague and random flirtations with girls, Mai included. Mai for various reasons ignores his advances. Soon it is time for Battle City tournament.

Joey sees Kaiba's announcement on television. He was visiting Serenity in the hospital when she was taken away to get an examination. That's when he saw it. Seto makes the announcement while he is hanging from a helicopter. Seto's hair is blowing in the wind, he has a fierce look in his eyes, and the strength it took to hang there, was impressive. Joey can't look away, he is fascinated by the guy.

"He is so hot." Joey mumbled to himself. He was glad Serenity wasn't there to hear him. He was even more grateful Tristan had to babysit his nephew. The guy yells at Joey every time Joey stares at Seto too long. Tristan had also given Joey some pictures of Mai clipped from a dueling magazine. Joey uses them to masturbate to, but the image in his head drifts to Seto and he comes.

"It's no use, I like him. He's hot…and trouble… Oh, man I'm gonna see Kaiba in my dreams for a while."

ceo

Battle City started, Joey and Yugi were having a terrific time until Marik interfered. The terrifying duel between Yugi and Joey cemented their friendship even more. The friends were grateful to be alive and fearful of what was coming. Joey was glad to see Mai again. Joey looked at Mai and Serenity and felt the same feeling. Mai is great but he was starting to feel like she was another sister. He didn't even look in Seto's direction. He didn't think he could handle it. He just hugged Serenity more. The gang celebrated Serenity's successful surgery at a family restaurant. All too soon it was time for the finals and the friends headed to the location.

ceo

Joey felt devastated. Mai was just lying there, like the dead. Joey felt like his heart was ripped out. Maybe he cared about the lady more than he thought. At other times he thought it was no different than if Serenity was lying there. This confusion only added to his pain and guilt. He loved her but he didn't know in what way. His feeling for Seto were more primal. There was no question he mainly desired Seto. Sometimes he felt more for the guy, for example, his interactions with his brother. The guy was too arrogant to feel anything but desire and admiration.

Mai recovered and the joy Joey felt made things clear he loved her as a friend or sister. His desire for her was completely superficial and evaporated. Tristan patted on his back as if he was saying 'there you go, you're on the right track now, forget about old sour puss Kaiba'. Only he couldn't forget it. Now with his feelings about Mai settled, Joey could only see one person he wanted. He couldn't forget him. Tristan was right he liked complicated people. Seto Kaiba was a challenge. Maybe that was partly why he challenged Seto to duels. It was more than wanting him as a friend or to have him recognize his skills. He wanted Seto's attention.

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"Yugi, am I wrong to like him?" Joey asked one time when they were alone.

"You can't help who you love Joey, you just do."

"I do, I like him. He fascinates me. Nobody else is like him. I try to hate him, his arrogant ways and all but…"

"Give it time. Maybe you will get over it because he does something really bad or…"

"Maybe, or maybe I won't and he tramples all over my heart."

"Well then at least you will get your answer."

"Yeah, Tristan is pushing me toward Mai and I had already decided I don't feel that way about her. Don't tell him I said that."

"Your secret is safe with me."

"Yuge, you are the only one I can talk about this. Even Tea expects me to go out with Mai." Tea's feelings about the other girl had changed and she saw her as a friend.

"Give it time Joey. That's all we can do. Either Kaiba will reject you or not. Just wait. I want to be his friend and I'm willing to wait. I believe he will come around."

"Yeah, I hope so."

"Funny thing about Kaiba, Tea thinks he's gay."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, maybe its women's intuition but she watched him throughout the tournament and she thinks he's gay."

"Based on what?"

"How he behaved toward women. She said he kind of ignored the women and basically talked to guys the whole time. She said he's like that at school as well."

"Yeah?"

"Yup, I think that is one thing in your favor."

"Yeah! Kaiba's gay and is going to be mine…Maybe."

The guys laughed.

"Joey, how do you feel about Duke? He's good looking, rich, smart all the things you like about Kaiba. He also a friend."

"Kaiba has something that Duke lacks, he's manly. Don't you think Duke is a bit feminine?"

"A bit."

"Kaiba is intense and manly." Joey blushes.

"He's your type?"

"Maybe."

ceo

Battle City came to end and the friends found their feelings were evolving. Seto's childhood story made them feel more sympathetic toward him. Tristan still didn't think he would make a good friend and gave Joey warning looks. Yugi gave him supportive looks. Joey learned patience, he figured he would need it if he got together with somebody like Seto or Mai.

"Mai."

Joey wondered what happened to her.

He would find out in the cruelest way. Mai had fallen into the clutches of Dartz. Joey was overwhelmed with the feeling guilt. He let Mai down. Mai depended on her friends and Dartz took advantage of her. There was Joey going about his daily life, spending time with family and friends, school and work, staring at Seto. Just the normal ups and downs of life and Mai was going through this mess. He cared about her but he dropped the ball. She was lonely and lost and feeling friendless.

"Will she ever forgive me Yugi?" Asked Joey

"Of course she will." Yugi answered. They were once again alone.

"That Valon guy is pretty cool."

"Are you going to be ok? I mean about Mai and Valon?"

"Yeah, that duel was very telling. To me she is just a friend and Valon loves her like a woman. He understands her better and can take care of her better than I can. I had no idea she was so fragile"

"You sound relieved."

"I am. I failed her but Valon won't. I am satisfied as long as my friends are happy, I'm happy."

"That's good Joey. And Kaiba?"

"I think he gets a little more used to us every day."

"Good."

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The involuntary trip to Egypt was not on Seto Kaiba's to do list. He hated the magical crap. He kept hoping it would go away. He noticed it always had something to do with those magical Items. If they went away, got crushed under a ton of rock, hopefully then the crazy shit will end. The other thing that always happened when everything went crazy, Yugi and his gang of idiots were always near. Yugi or rather the Pharaoh was his only rival. Being in Egypt's past is forcing him to recognize the Pharaoh is real. He hoped no one will ever know. His ancestor was amazing too. He wanted to admit being a descendant of a priest. Yugi was even more worthy as a possible friend because of his ancestry. This caused a conflict inside of Seto, on one hand he wanted it all to go away. On the other hand, he was rather impressed by this priest.

Somehow He always got sucked into one crazy mess after another. He just wanted to have just one normal tournament. Just one where nothing weird happened.

He even enjoyed school. Nothing happened there, nobody was trying to take over the world, or his company, or kidnap his brother. It was relaxing. One of the pleasanter things to do was Joey baiting. He enjoyed playing with the puppy. School sometimes was too quiet and it was fun to tease Joey. Seto never even noticed Joey when they first started school. Joey was a loud mouth nobody. Then he became Yugi's friend and still he didn't notice Joey, until Duelist Kingdom and the Mutt dared to touch him. Seto put him down like the dog he is. Joey was the annoying howling low class friend of his rival. Thing about Joey is he keeps coming back. He gets in Seto's face, under his skin. He was forced to notice the guy. He was so persistent. If Seto didn't know better, Joey was interested in him. No way, that was true. Even Seto noticed Joey sniffing around Mai. She had all of the things straight guys seemed to like, so it was only natural he like her. Not that he cared, but he felt the pup was his own personal play thing. That is what made school so nice, no Mai.

ceo

Battle City was supposed to be his glorious achievement. All of that hard work was going to pay off. But one annoyance after another happened. Not to mention some heart stopping moments. His beloved little brother is kidnapped, again. Genius that Mokuba is, he escapes and something even more horrifying happens. That insane duel between a possessed Joey and Yugi. That girl was also in danger. It's true he can't get it up for a girl but that doesn't mean he doesn't respect them. The whole set up was crazy. He wanted to crush Yugi in a duel on National TV not kill him. Now Marik wanted to kill Yugi before he had a chance to defeat him. The duel was painful to watch. Seto did his part in rescuing the girl and they were all safe and Seto breathed a sigh of relief.

But there was also Joey's sister, Mokuba filled him in on how Joey got the prize money to get her eyes fix. Suddenly there she was with Mai and more idiots. Next thing anybody knew she was whipping off her bandages and diving into the water. The Wheeler siblings pop up alive and well. Seto saw the affection between Joey and his sister. It reminded Seto of how he felt about his brother. He had to look away. He didn't want to have a connection with the idiot. He was a play thing nothing more.

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One thing about Joey's sister is her loyalty, courage and faith in her big brother. Coming in begging for help when they started dropping like flies She demanded attention in a gentle way, so unlike her brother. He did all he could for them, his doctors are the best and they all recovered. However, that girl left an impression. It does Joey credit to have such a sister. Seto never noticed girls, they are nothing more than clucking hens. Yugi's friend, the Egyptian woman, even Mai, all fade into the background, all except her.

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Seto couldn't believe he was forced to fight alongside of Joey. Yugi was ok, and suitably talented enough to be a knight, but that second rate duelist? Unacceptable. But it had to be endured. That Dartz person was too annoying to ignore. Seto delighted in destroying the image of Yugi's friends, Mai's in particular. But ultimately he was saved by the Pharaoh, again. The most disturbing part was being so close to Joey. He didn't want to think of Joey as a comrade, talented or cute. Joey was disturbingly cute dressed as a knight. He would defend his girlfriend too. Well, actually he wasn't sure they were dating or why he cared. Sometimes he thought the guy was staring at him or flirting with him. It wasn't impossible that the guy was bisexual and found him attractive. Seto was beginning to think that wasn't a bad thing. After all, the Pup was his to tease.

ceo

Again and again he was forced to endure these indignities. However, things began to change as his next tournament went well, despite the attempt of the pink haired freak. He proved he only needed minutes to stop a nut job. He certainly learns from his mistakes. He may never defeat Yugi, but Yugi will never reach the height of success he has. It was something. Maybe he will accept Yugi's friendship after all. There was some talk of going to Egypt to bring all of the insanity to an end. How much he wanted that. He was finally getting some order in his life. Kaiba Corp is secure, Mokuba is safe, and maybe he will even have a friend worthy of him. Oh, Yugi had some baggage, including a surprisingly good looking Joey. That is the thing about Joey he is at his most attractive when he was unconscious. The guy has a well-developed body, a charming smile, and a cute sister all in his favor. As insane as it sounds, it didn't seem so bad to be around Joey more often. All the better for teasing the pup.

ceo

Seto felt strangely upset when Joey said he had no friends. He intended to befriend Yugi soon. Apparently not soon enough. Joey's dismissal bothered him. However he pushed it aside, as there was a duel to watch.

Yugi versus the Pharaoh was the most amazing duel he had ever seen. Little Yugi gained his respect forever. It would be an honor to be his friend. Tea is possibly his girlfriend. Joey will apologize and the other idiots he can tolerate.

The cave in was perfect, it buried those trouble making Items. Now he won't have to hear about them anymore. He saw his ancestor one last time. He had his archivist do some research and Priest Seto was added to the family tree.

Joey did apologize and was surprisingly cute as he did it. Yugi and Tea seemed to be arranging a date. Seto felt strangely satisfied. For once things are going his way. The puppy was jumping around, tackling his friends. "Ow." Seto's face hurt.

"Seto, you're smiling." Said Mokuba in wonder.

"Yes, for once everything is alright." Seto answered.

"Yeah, you're right Big Brother."

"I'm always right, I thought you knew that. Ow."

"Don't worry, your smile muscles will adjust."

"Yes."

On the way back to the jeeps, Seto found himself looking at Joey again.

"When did Wheeler get so attractive?" He said, forgetting Mokuba was next to him.

"You like Joey, Big Brother?"

"Yes, a little."

"Good, because Joey likes you. He hates the attitude you throw around but he likes you never the less. Show them some respect, be friends with the gang and Joey will like you even more."

"It is that easy?"

"No, you will have to work at it. However I think you two would make a good couple. Joey is the only person who doesn't flinch when you yell."

Seto mused about this for a moment. He spotted step one in becoming Joey's boyfriend, and walked over to Yugi.

"Yugi, I believe it would be an honor to have you as a friend."

"Really?" Asked Yugi, surprised. It was a great day. The Pharaoh went to his rest, he had a date with Tea and Seto wanted to be friends.

"Yes." Answered Seto.

"Well, there are conditions, you have to be nice to all of my friends, not just me."

"Your conditions are acceptable, especially concerning the Puppy."

Yugi followed Seto's eye line and spotted the blond 'Puppy'. He was happy for his friend.

"The Puppy is willing as long as you are friendly."

"Understood. I wish him to like me."

"He is just defensive when you put on airs."

"I'm not perfect, I'm not even the best duelist in the world. That would be you, Yugi."

"Thank you, Kaiba. And being a bit humble will take you a long way toward winning your Pup."

"If you say so." Seto pretended he didn't care, but he respected the opinions of both Mokuba and Yugi. So, he took it to heart and changed.

ceo

One month later, Seto was enjoying himself in the Muto living room. Joey had just gone downstairs for snacks and he watched that fine ass leave the room. He was making excellent progress being friendly with the whole gang, and Joey seemed to appreciate the efforts.

"Joey forgot to get our drink orders." Said Tea.

Seto saw his opportunity.

"I will gladly get the drinks, what does everyone want?" Asked Seto

"Thanks Kaiba, I'll have barley tea." Said Tea

The others all gave their orders and Seto memorized them. After he left Tristan said:

"Yugi, I'll never doubt your instincts again. Kaiba has been an awesome friend."

"I think he will be an even awesomer boyfriend."

"Huh?" The gang asked collectively.

Meanwhile, Seto entered the kitchen and saw Joey bent over looking for a bowl. He walked over and grabbed Joey's butt. Joey bumped his head and screamed. Then he stood up and rubbed his head.

"Damn it Duke, quit grabbing my ass."

His eyes widen when he heard a deep voice say:

"Duke grabs your butt?"

Joey spun around and came face to face with a Seto who couldn't decide if he was angry or disappointed. He settled on angry. Joey tried to defuse the situation.

"Duke is a big flirt, he grabs everybody's ass. Heh, heh."

Seto pushed Joey up against the cabinets and said:

"Nobody but me is going to touch that fine butt."

He bent down and crushed his lips to Joey's before he could respond. Joey wondered what was going on but it felt too good. He melted into Seto passion and kissed back. Joey weaved his fingers in Seto's hair and Seto wrapped his arms around Joey's waist. They kissed for several minutes and parted, huffing.

"Kaiba? What is going on?"

Seto realized he was too pushy but Joey didn't seem to mind.

"I was trying to get your attention and ask you out, but you said that thing about Duke…"

Joey stopped him with a hug.

"Seto, I like you too, I'll go out you, you big lug. Don't worry about Duke, I don't like him like that."

"If he tries it in my sight. I will break his hand."

Joey chuckled and said:

"No worries, Duke doesn't get in between couples. I mean, we are boyfriends now?"

"Of course."

They went back to kissing for a few minutes when they heard some catcalls. The new couple whipped around and saw the entire gang standing in the doorway. They were a bit cramped.

"We were wondering what was taking you guys so long." Said a snickering Tristan

Tea and Yugi were blushing and giggling together.

"Oh my!" Said Ryo

"Oh yes! I won the bet!" Crowed Duke, who was ignoring the glares from both Joey and Seto.

Seto blanched when he heard the last voice:

"Way to go Big Brother!" Said a very amused Mokuba. Seto forgot he was present. Yugi cleared his throat and said:

"Right Tea get the glasses, Ryo get the ice, here is the bowl Joey, the popcorn is done. Kaiba open this bag of chips. The rest of you go upstairs, you're in the way."

Tristan, Duke and Mokuba went upstairs giggling.

"Congratulations you two." Said Ryo.

"Yes, we will try to keep those hyenas from teasing you guys." Said Tea.

"Thanks guys." Said Joey

"Yes, thank you." Said a more humble Seto.

They gathered the snacks on two trays and Yugi and Ryo carried them upstairs. Tea followed her boyfriend and the new couple followed after her, holding hands.

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Thanks again reviewers. I hope this is satisfactory ending.

Please Review


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